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Police Arrest Man Accused of Firing Shots in Casino Parking Lot

By Ewa Kern-Jedrychowska | April 7, 2015 11:32am
 Police said Jaquan Roberts, 22, was arrested for firing a gun Friday night at the parking lot of Resorts World Casino in South Ozone Park.
Police said Jaquan Roberts, 22, was arrested for firing a gun Friday night at the parking lot of Resorts World Casino in South Ozone Park.
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Facebook/NYPD

QUEENS A man accused of firing shots in a Queens casino parking lot last Friday as a massive brawl involving dozens of people raged inside was arrested Tuesday, police said.

The 106th Precinct tweeted Tuesday morning that Jaquan Roberts, 22, “the @ResortsWorldNYC RWC shooter, is in custody as of 8:25 AM!”

Roberts was charged with attempted assault, criminal possession of a weapon and reckless endangerment, police said.

According to the NYPD, Roberts, 22, fired several shots in the parking lot of the Resorts World Casino around 10:50 p.m. Friday.

Officials said that they searched the area and local hospitals looking for possible victims, but none were found.

Authorities identified Roberts as the suspect after checking surveillance footage around the casino and using facial recognition technology and a license plate reader, police said.

The shots were fired as a brawl, which erupted around 10:40 p.m., was raging inside the casino.

The fight involving about two dozen patrons broke out during the grand opening of a daiquiri bar and was started by customers annoyed by the long wait for drinks, according to published reports.

Several videos showing people hurling chairs and exchanging punches quickly went viral.

It was not immediately clear if the shots fired in the parking lot were related to the brawl inside the casino, police said.

Roberts'lawyer, Ali Najmi, said that the two incidents were not connected and noted thathis client turned himself in to police.

What happened at the Racino is very unfortunate, however, my client had nothing to do with the brawl and never intended to hurt anyone, Najmi said in a statement. He has surrendered himself to the police to face these charges and clear his name.

Authorities said that Roberts has at least six prior arrests. In 2010, he was arrested for possession of a loaded .22 caliber revolver after he shot himself in the right leg, according to the NYPD.

Roberts has not been arraigned as of Tuesday morning, according to the Queens District Attorney's office.